2 bills vetoed by NC governor to become law anyway

Published: Wednesday, September 4, 2013 at 12:04 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, September 4, 2013 at 12:04 p.m.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Two bills vetoed by Gov. Pat McCrory will become law anyway now that the General Assembly has formally canceled them.

The Senate voted to override the vetoes by comfortable margins Wednesday morning, a day after the House did the same thing. The Senate took less than 10 minutes on both bills.

The legislation requires drug-testing for welfare recipients and creates a wider exemption for employers to calculate whether they must access a federal database to determine the legal status of new hires.

The overrides are a blow to McCrory, who actively lobbied legislators to uphold his vetoes. He says the drug-testing bill would not be cost effective. He said the veto on the E-Verify program would allow immigrants in the country illegally to take jobs.

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